Williams gains reprieve as Scotland chiefs deliberate

The long goodbye continues for Matt Williams. While many expected that yesterday's meeting of the Scottish Rugby Union's executive would result in the sacking of the national coach, board members instead decided that their process of deliberation should continue and that no action would be taken until next week.

Yet while some will inevitably interpret the board's failure to act as evidence of indecision, the more plausible explanation is that they understand the need to be seen to be acting fairly as Williams might contest the loss of a lucrative contract that has more than two years to run.

Williams addressed the board at Murrayfield yesterday, speaking for 50 minutes before answering questions for another 40. However slick his presentation might have been, the meeting also considered the evidence contained within the SRU's own review of the RBS Six Nations Championship.

Having extracted only one victory - an unimpressive effort against a dismal Italy this year - from two Six Nations campaigns, Williams' record in charge of Scotland has been unimpressive. Yet more damning have been the reports of discontent in the squad.

A wish to clear the decks of a crew that includes forwards coach Willie Anderson, analyst Brett Igoe and performance manager Steve Anderson, may also be a factor in prolonging the process of Williams' removal. Murrayfield sources have also pointed to the inexperience of the board itself, a consequence of the administrative chaos within the SRU earlier this year, and uncertainty over the direction to be taken in future.

In attempting to defend his record, Williams has tended to be critical of the fitness and skills of the players he inherited, which may not have been the most tactful argument when the Six Nations dossier was being assembled by Ian McGeechan, the SRU director of rugby who also happened to be Williams' immediate predecessor as national coach.

That McGeechan, who last week announced he would be joining Wasps at the end of this season, is on his way out opens the possibility of a coaching team being led by a performance director whose responsibilities would not be limited to the national side. Given the SRU's financial difficulties, there is bound to be an attraction one person filling two roles.

Ironically, on the day that Williams' execution was being stayed, Glasgow announced a two-year contract extension for his fellow Australian Dan Parks, the fly-half whose poor performances in the Six Nations were seen as symbols of the malaise of the coach's regime.